MendelMax 1.5+ vs. Prusa i3

I have been reading on 3D printers for weeks, and finally have narrowed down my choices. I will purchase tomorrow (finally!) either the MendelMax 1.5+ from Ultibots, or the Prusa 8" i3 from MakerFarm. If you could do it all over again, which would you buy? I am excited about my purchase and truly appreciate all of the information that this site and all of you have posted. Thanks in advance and I look forward to your response.

I have a Prusa i3 from www.3dprinterczar.com and a MendelMax 2.0 from www.makertoolworks.com . Sorry they are not exactly the models you have in mind, but they are similiar in many ways. I've had successful prints from both and here's what I think:

1. Build Difficulty
Prusa i3 is definitely a winner for this. I probably spent around 3 - 4 hours building 3D Printer Czar's model. MendelMax 2 took me a lot more time (to be fair, that was my first RepRap build), like 10 - 15 hours in total. I don't like the T-slot designs of MM2 (for aluminum extrusion, I believe MM1.5 also uses them). You WILL have trouble tightening them.

2. Frame Regidity
The model from 3d pritner czar uses 6mm acrylic sheet with two side panels as support, but it is still nowhere near the regidity of a MM2. I feel I could drop my mm2 and the frame will still be okay, but the prusa i3's main acrylic sheet can take very little hit. It is pretty common to observe a bit wobblness during print for i3. Also, MM2 is made of almost all metal (aluminum extrusion, waterjet cut aluminum sheets, linear rails, etc.). Although this adds to the rigidity, it reduces the "replicability".

3. Price
I'm not sure about the makerfarm, but 3d pritner czar's i3 only cost me $499 shipping is free! On the other hand, I bought the hardware kit from maker tool works for my mm2, and it cost $800 and $30 for shipping. With the electronics and hotend, my MM2 probably cost me around $1100.

4. Portablity
This one might not be important to you, but I travel a lot and I'd like to bring my printer with me. Prusa i3 is much easier to take apart. You jsut need to detach the mainframe from the chassis, and you can fit them in your suitcase. I've also kept 3D Printer czar's c ase and packaging forms. They laser cut slots on the foams to protect parts, and I keep these foams to help move my kit. MM2 is much heavier and harder to disassemble into portable subunits. I once took it on a flight and it took me about 2 hours to assemble afterwards.

Anyways, if you focus a lot of regidity and price is not a concern, go for mm1.5 (under the assumption it's quite close to mm2). Otherwise, I would go for Prusa i3. Just let me know if you have further questions and i'm happy to answer

thanks myohmy11 I was actually thinking about buying mm2, but now i'll take a look at 3d printer czar. Do the two machines have LCD controller mounts?

Thanks for your perspective myohmy11! This is exactly what I was looking for. I don't care about the cost so much (well kind of do), nor portability. I want something that will be assembled here in my home office and used to make small projects. This is going to be my first 3D printer and I can't wait to join in the movement!

V/R

ND

Ended up going with the Ultibots printer. It came down to who I could call on the phone and have someone answer that would be able to take the time to answer my questions. Maker Farm doesn't have a phone number to call on their site, and neither does 3D Printer Czar. 3D Printer Czar actually has the tri-color mendel, but only contact via email so it was a non-starter for me. Thanks again myohmy11 for your advice and have a good weekend.

V/R

ND

no problem nous defions, I'm glad it helps! Welcome to the movement!

I have built a MendelMax with a Prusa i3 X-axis

So this means the rigid frame of a mendelmax and then the nice x-axis from the i3, I now notice it's actually not all that great, but it's nice to have this variation. As a first printer I recommend the i3, but I see you got an Ultibots already, so I hope you're happy with that one too

Let us know how it works out!

The MM2 is using precision glides for the X axis and seems to be quite an improvement from the MM1.5. I've done a couple of MM2s now and they are very robust but not for those that don't do a lot of DIY. The machine is designed for a manufacturing context not so much a DIY context, let alone for a first time build. The smoothness of the travel and the rigidity of the frame give it some blindingly fast print speeds with almost no vibration compared to an i3.

For the poster that had an issue with tightening the t slot nuts I use a hex socket and 1/4" ratchet. It gets them plenty tight. The extrusion is soft and the nut will dig into it so if you stop when you feel resistance you need to go a bit more to get them tight.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2013 06:54PM by vegasloki.

Just to follow up with this post. I got my MM 1.5 and finally finished the build. It took me around 30 total working hours to build it. The kit was delivered just after Christmas, however, I had to go visit some family and just came back home till the middle of last week. If I were to do it all over again, I might have went with something else for a first build. I did quite a bit of searching and reading on this forum to get it up and running. Something smaller and more simple would be my advise to anyone that was like me and wanted to build their first printer. I am still trying to get a good first successful print, however I think I am close. The good thing about the Ultibots kit is that after you will definitely know how to put one together from parts off the internet no problem.

Now back to the search function and trying to finish tweaking my printer..........

Nous Defions which part of the MM1.5 build would you consider the most timing consuming? I heard from many (even Maxbot himself) that the MM1.5 is not very build-friendly. I was thinking about upgrading to aluminum extrusions but not sure what exactly is difficult about it.

Onion,

Sorry for the delayed response. The most time consuming part was trying to sift through all the information. The build guide I used was pretty much all over the place and referencing the build between the guide I had, various pictures on the internet, and this forum took more time than the actual parts assembly. If you are just going to upgrade the extrusions then you already have most of the hard part (for me anyways) done. Mine is the Ultimax with the 420mm extrusions. Also, the cable management is a pain because of all that room. The X axis motor cable was a little short, and the power cable to the extruder's thermester just reached the board. I would recommend it for your application just because it sounds like you already have a working knowledge of your printer. Luckily for me I had good support from Ultibots, and this forum.

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myohmy11
I have a Prusa i3 from www.3dprinterczar.com and a MendelMax 2.0 from www.makertoolworks.com . Sorry they are not exactly the models you have in mind, but they are similiar in many ways. I've had successful prints from both and here's what I think:

Hi myohmy11,

Thanks for the detailed insight into the two printers. I am considering to buy the czar Prusa i3 kit. I was wondering how was your experience.

Were the parts good quality?
Did you have any issues assembling?
Did you need any support from them and did they provide any support to you?
What instructions did you follow?
How much soldering was involved?

There is not much on their website about the written tutorials or videos specific to this printer.

Sorry for all the questions. Their kit seems to be the most economical for the build size. However I want to make sure I will be able to handle it before I jump in.

Thanks in advance.

So I do a Workshop around building and assembling the Prusa I3 from Makerfarm.
We have done over 20 of these printers in this workshop.
The only issues encountered were a couple of missing parts and a couple of parts that broke in shipping which Colin replaced very quickly.
In the work shop we take from 16-24 hours to go through the introduction, build, and calibration of the printers. Because it is a group
setting it takes more than time than assembling on your own.
The videos and documents with the Makerfarm product are top knotch.

Also Colin at Makerfarm is constantly tweaking and improving all the components.

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bytemedwb
So I do a Workshop around building and assembling the Prusa I3 from Makerfarm.
We have done over 20 of these printers in this workshop.
The only issues encountered were a couple of missing parts and a couple of parts that broke in shipping which Colin replaced very quickly.
In the work shop we take from 16-24 hours to go through the introduction, build, and calibration of the printers. Because it is a group
setting it takes more than time than assembling on your own.
The videos and documents with the Makerfarm product are top knotch.

Also Colin at Makerfarm is constantly tweaking and improving all the components.

Makerfarm is also one of my considerations, it is just that it is more expensive than the others for the same size. The czar 8x8x8 Prusa is $499 shipped with power supply, hot bed and glass. The Makerfarm 8" equivalent is $590 plus shipping and without power supply and glass. I understand Colin provides excellent customer service, but then again it is about $150 more expensive considering the shipping, power supply and glass cost.

Do you have any experience with czar Prusa i3 kit at [3dprinterczar.com] or know of anyone else who does?

Thanks.

Shah123,

I will just chime in with this, Czar does not have a phone number to contact him with, only email. Also, the build page is the generic wiki, not a comprehensive step by step build guide specific to that printer. I am sure that the Czar printer makes a good printer, but if it's your first one like mine you will need alot of help. And, they may be very responsive to your email questions, I don't know. However, any instructional videos and others that have made that printer will be HUGE when you get into the build. More so when it comes time to calibrate it, as you will see as I am about to start another thread asking for help on calibrating my printer. I don't know anything about Makerfarm either so I can't advocate one or the other. I would pay extra if it came with better support which you will absolutely need. Just my .02. Good luck!

ND

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shah123

Quote
bytemedwb
So I do a Workshop around building and assembling the Prusa I3 from Makerfarm.
We have done over 20 of these printers in this workshop.
The only issues encountered were a couple of missing parts and a couple of parts that broke in shipping which Colin replaced very quickly.
In the work shop we take from 16-24 hours to go through the introduction, build, and calibration of the printers. Because it is a group
setting it takes more than time than assembling on your own.
The videos and documents with the Makerfarm product are top knotch.

Also Colin at Makerfarm is constantly tweaking and improving all the components.

Makerfarm is also one of my considerations, it is just that it is more expensive than the others for the same size. The czar 8x8x8 Prusa is $499 shipped with power supply, hot bed and glass. The Makerfarm 8" equivalent is $590 plus shipping and without power supply and glass. I understand Colin provides excellent customer service, but then again it is about $150 more expensive considering the shipping, power supply and glass cost.

Do you have any experience with czar Prusa i3 kit at [3dprinterczar.com] or know of anyone else who does?

Thanks.

Hey shah,

I've got a kit from czar, there were some problems and parts mismatch that I managed to work around with lots of cable ties. I guess the overall quality of the kit was average, but it's hard to fault it when it costs only USD499 with shipping.

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chngyian
Hey shah,

I've got a kit from czar, there were some problems and parts mismatch that I managed to work around with lots of cable ties. I guess the overall quality of the kit was average, but it's hard to fault it when it costs only USD499 with shipping.

Hi chngyian,

Thanks for posting your experience. I appreciate it.

Could you point me to the instructions you followed? Also were the mismatched parts all the printed ones? What if I have the same problem, could it be solved by ordering another set of the printed parts? Or could you in theory (now that you have printer working) print out the replacement parts for your printer?

Thanks in advance.

I want more space stability, speed and dual extruder. your advice will be to go with mmax?
Considering is my first printer, is better go with a kit? Or where I can found a valid bill of materials?

the czar emailed me an instruction and he said they are posting it on reprap wiki soon. I'm sure if you email them they are happy to give it to you, but just in case, pm me and i'll send you my copy.

I actually didn't have missing parts with my kit, I emailed them just before after the purchase to ask them include everything and double check, and I'm glad that I didn't have to spend time looking for some replacement.

The sales guy also sent me the STLs (ask them they should give you too). It's a little bit different from the original i3 parts, the Y belt holder consists of 3 pieces and it's easier to hold the belt. The x belt holder doesn't have teeth and uses cable ties.

hope this helps.

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myohmy11
the czar emailed me an instruction and he said they are posting it on reprap wiki soon. I'm sure if you email them they are happy to give it to you, but just in case, pm me and i'll send you my copy.

I actually didn't have missing parts with my kit, I emailed them just before after the purchase to ask them include everything and double check, and I'm glad that I didn't have to spend time looking for some replacement.

The sales guy also sent me the STLs (ask them they should give you too). It's a little bit different from the original i3 parts, the Y belt holder consists of 3 pieces and it's easier to hold the belt. The x belt holder doesn't have teeth and uses cable ties.

hope this helps.

Thanks for the response. They sent me the instructions too, and it is a well-made document. I was willing to buy, but I was concerned about the missing/misplaced parts. Many people are saying they are missing parts. And I asked them about it, but did not get any response. In the meantime, I ordered Prusa i3x from diytechshop. Later the guy responded back and he said that they have grown and now they double check all the parts before send out. It was a satisfactory response, but a little too late.